5.2 Raid Preview: Council of Elders Video, News Round Up

For today's news round up, we've got our very first look at the new 5.2 raid zone, Throne of Thunder. We also have some more Blizzard clarifications on 5.2 features--the ilvl for Throne of Thunder LFR is 480, PvP Honor gear will be nerfed to 476 to encourage people to increase their ilvl through PvE, and while the Item Upgrade vendors are removed in 5.2, they're still most likely returning in 5.3, and already-upgraded items will keep their stats.

Council of Elders

Raid testing on the PTR started Friday, January 11th, for the Council of Elders, so Lore from TankSpot tested and made a great preview video of the encounter! Even if you're not a dedicated raider, this video is still pretty cool because it's our first look at the interior of the Throne of Thunder--and it looks pretty awesome.

Click the "Dungeon Journal" tab to see a list of all the abilities! (Note: spell values generally default to 10-player normal, you can view "Effect" on a spell page to see the values for all difficulties.)

The Spirit of Gara'jal: The spirit of Gara'jal the Spiritbinder possess a random councillor, empowering their abilities and causing them to generate Dark Energy. The spirit remains in a councillor until they suffer 25% of their maximum health in damage. Once the spirit is forced out, it rushes to inhabit a new councillor, resets Dark Energy to 0, and leaves behind the Lingering Presence effect.

Lingering Presence: When the Spirit of Gara'jal leaves a councillor, it leaves behind the Lingering Presence effect. This effect increases all damage done by 10% and increases the rate that Dark Energy is generated by 10% for the remainder of the fight. This effect stacks.

Dark Power: If a councillor reaches 100 Dark Energy they will begin to cast Dark Power every second. Dark Power inflicts 9250 to 10750 Shadow damage to all players and increases in damage by 10% with each cast.

Soul Fragment: Every other time the Spirit of Gara'jal is forced out of a councillor, he leaves behind a Soul Fragment.Soul Fragments possess a random player, inflicting 35000 Shadow damage every 3 sec until the Soul Fragment is passed to another player. In addition, each time the Soul Fragment deals damage, it applies Shadowed Soul to that player.

In 25-Player Heroic Difficulty, a Soul Fragment is created every time that the Spirit of Gara'jal is forced out of a councillor.

Shadowed Soul: All damage taken increased by 5% for the remainder of the fight. This effect stacks.

Frost King Malakk:

Frigid Assault: Frost King Malakk imbues his weapons with ice, causing his melee attacks to inflict 73125 to 76875 Frost damage. In addition, each melee attack applies the Frigid Assault effect. The Frigid Assault effect will stun the target for 15 sec if it reaches 15 stacks.

Biting Cold: Frost King Malakk shrouds a player in ice, inflicting 82875 to 87125 Frost damage and afflicting them with Biting Cold. Biting Cold causes the player to inflict 82875 to 87125 Frost damage to all allies within 4 yards every 2 sec for 30 sec.

Frostbite: Frost King Malakk uses this ability while possessed by the spirit of Gara'jal.Frost King Malakk shrouds a player in ice, inflicting 97500 to 102500 Frost damage and afflicting them with 5 stacks of Frostbite. Frostbite causes the player to inflict 29250 to 30750 Frost damage per stack of Frostbite to all allies within 4 yards every 2 sec for 30 sec.Stacks of Frostbite are reduced by 1 for each player that stays within 4 yards of the player afflicted with Frostbite. The number of stacks of Frostbite cannot be reduced below one.

In 10-Player modes, 2 stacks of Frostbite are removed for each player within 4 yards.

On Raid Finder difficulty, 4 stacks of Frostbite are removed for each player within 4 yards.

Body Heat: When a player is hit by an ally's Frostbite, they begin to lose Body Heat over 8 sec. Once Body Heat expires, the player is Chilled to the Bone and no longer able to contribute to reducing the number of stacks of Frostbite an ally has for 8 sec.

Kazra'jin:

Reckless Charge: Kazra'jin rushes towards a random player's location, inflicting 69375 to 80625 Nature damage to all players in a line to his target and knocking all players within 5 yards back when he lands.

Overload: Kazra'jin uses this ability after performing a Reckless Charge while possessed by the spirit of Gara'jal.Kazra'jin becomes electrified, stunning himself for 20 sec and reflecting 50% of all damage taken as Nature damage.

Discharge: Kazra'jin uses this ability after performing a Reckless Charge while possessed by the spirit of Gara'jal.Kazra'jin becomes electrified, stunning himself for 20 sec and reflecting 10% of all damage taken as Nature damage to all players.

Sul the Sandcrawler:

Sand Bolt: Sul the Sandcrawler hurls a bolt of sand at a random player's location, inflicting 138750 to 161250 Nature damage to all players withing 5 yards of the targeted location.

Quicksand: Sul the Sandcrawler summons a pool of Quicksand at a random player's location, afflicting them with Entrapped.Quicksand inflicts 121875 to 128125 Nature damage every second to all players within 7 yards and causes them to become Ensnared.

Ensnared: Quicksand pools cause players to gain a stack of Ensnared every second they are inside of it. Ensnared reduces movement speed by 15% per stack.If Ensnared reaches 5 stacks, players become Entrapped.

Entrapped: Players at the location of a pool of Quicksand being created or that reach 5 stacks of Ensnared are rooted in place for 30 sec.

Sandstorm: Sul the Sandcrawler uses this ability while possessed by the spirit of Gara'jal.Sul the Sandcrawler summons a sandstorm that inflicts 35000 Nature damage to all players every second for 8 sec, and animates all existing pools of Quicksand, transforming them into Living Sand.

Living Sand: Living Sand creatures rise from pools of Quicksand whenever a Sandstorm occurs, and remain active until they are killed.When a Living Sand dies, it creates a new pool of Quicksand at their location.

Fortified: Living Sand that are still active when a sandstorm occurs become fortified. This effect heals the Living Sand to full and increases all damage done by 100% until they are killed. This effect stacks.

Treacherous Ground: Quicksand pools that overlap with one another will combine into a single pool of proportionately larger size.Living Sand risen from Quicksand pools that have combined into larger pools have their health and damage increased by 100% for each pool that has combined.

Wrath of the Loa: High Priestess Mar'li strikes a player with the Wrath of the Loa, inflicting 115625 to 134375 Holy damage.

Blessed Loa Spirit: High Priestess Mar'li summons a Blessed Loa Spirit at her location. The spirit will move towards Mar'li's ally with the lowest remaining health and heal them for 5% of their maximum health if the spirit is not killed before reaching its target.If the spirit is still alive after 20 sec. it will instantly jump to its target and heal them for 5% of their maximum health.

Wrath of the Loa: High Priestess Mar'li uses this ability while possessed by the spirit of Gara'jal.High Priestess Mar'li strikes a player with the Wrath of the Loa, inflicting 138750 to 161250 Shadow damage.

Shadowed Loa Spirit: High Priestess Mar'li uses this ability while possessed by the spirit of Gara'jal.High Priestess Mar'li summons a Shadowed Loa Spirit at her location. The spirit fixates on a random player and pursues them for 20 sec, instantly killing them if the spirit comes within 6 yards of the player.If the spirit is still alive after 20 sec it will instantly jump to its target and kill them.

Twisted Fate: High Priestess Mar'li uses this ability while possessed by the spirit of Gara'jal.High Priestess Mar'li rips the souls from two random players and links them together. Each soul pursues the soul it is linked to and inflicts 250000 Shadow damage to all players every 3 sec. The damage of Twisted Fate is reduced the further each soul is from the other.When a soul dies, severing the link between the two, the remaining soul begins to inflict 100000 Shadow damage every 3 sec.

Click the cut to read more Blizzard posts, including clarifications on LFR required item levels and item upgrades in 5.2!

Taepsilum

And now for something completely different!

No, it's actually not different at all ;)Just wanted to share some updated info we have with you guys: At this moment our intent is to change Throne of Thunder’s LFR ilvl requirement to 480, we also want to lower the Honor gear in patch 5.2 from 483 to 476, compensating with some bonus PvP stats, so that the gear remains as powerful for PvP but not allow players to use it as a quick shortcut into LFR.

Like always, everything is subject to change, we’re still in PTR stage folks! And we all know that even on live things can still change, while we always strike to avoid doing that (and that’s why we have a PTR), gameplay comes first, so if a change is urgently needed, we do our best to apply it as fast as possible.

Ghostcrawler on Twitter

Ghostcrawler

Item Upgrades

Could you perhaps elaborate via non twitter as to why no more item upgrades please?If you have 1000 Valor, you shouldn't have a hard decision about buying a new item vs. upgrading an old. Just buy a new one in 5.2.Why does Blizzard hate options so much? Talents, Upgrades, many stats went away. Do you think players are stupid?On the contrary, players are so smart that they "solved" the simplistic talent design too quickly and never looked at it again. View Source

Will we be able to upgrade Malevolent (current 483 PVP gear) with Honor in 5.2, or will it still require ?You can't upgrade gear in 5.2.not able to upgrade any gear, or only not able to upgrade 5.2 gear?No gear. The NPC is goneWhat is happening to the already-upgraded gear? Will they keep stats/display upgrades on tooltips?Upgraded gear will not lose its upgrades. Upgrading will likely return after 5.2, but we'll evaluate all the feedback and see. View Source

DPS

We kept buffing Blinding Light because paladins thought it was weak in beta. We were wrong. It's probably okay for Ret as instant. View Source

Hey GC, for how long are Arcane and Affliction going to remain 8-10% above all other classes/specs on bosses overall?Probably until 5.2. We think they are both overpowered, but not so bad that hotfixes are critical. We'll keep an eye on it. View Source

As a mage switching specs and 90 talents fight to fight to remain competitive is getting tiring. Roller coaster balance too.Coupled with the fact that Fire damage was too high. The combo meant some felt they had to abandon Fire, which wasn't the intent. View Source

We think DKs are in a good place. My suspicion is those who feel weak are comparing themselves to warriors, who are too strong. View Source

Healing

We don't think healers need more damage, except for Disc and possibly Mist. Others have a lot of offensive pressure in PvP already. View Source

Content

Dungeons are right now a near worthless piece of content after reaching item level 463. Give us a reason to runThey have rare epics and they are an efficient source of valor (esp. first of the day). Don't you always grow out of dungeons? View Source

The 5.2 valor gear requires a rep, but it's not a rep you earn from dailies. (There is also a daily rep like in 5.1.) View Source

Blizzard

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of World of Warcraft players around the world who purchased the Cinder Kitten pet, we’ve raised a total of more than $2.3 million USD to support the American Red Cross’s ongoing Superstorm Sandy relief efforts. In December, we announced that for every Cinder Kitten purchased by December 31, 2012, 100% of the adoption fee would be going to assist victims of this disaster -- and the community embraced this fiery feline in droves, helping out a great cause in the process. Thanks again to everyone who helped make a difference.

From left to right American Red Cross' Janet Whitcomb, Bill Blanning, and Don Voss, and from Blizzard CEO and cofounder Mike Morhaime, World of Warcraft Production Director J. Allen Brack, and Game Director Tom Chilton.

Comments

Comment by Nicopolis

Comment by Hakunamatata

on 2013-01-13T12:23:03-06:00

I'm actually proud of WoW players' generosity. Keep it up guys! :)

Comment by OneLonelyPickle

on 2013-01-13T13:47:13-06:00

Dunno why Lore said there's too much going on in that fight. Looks pretty simple to me. It's like any other encounter; you need to be aware of what's going on and you need to be aware of what has priority over bosses.

Comment by Tush

on 2013-01-13T15:31:11-06:00

Hey GC, for how long are Arcane and Affliction going to remain 8-10% above all other classes/specs on bosses overall?Probably until 5.2. We think they are both overpowered, but not so bad that hotfixes are critical. We'll keep an eye on it. View Source

As a mage switching specs and 90 talents fight to fight to remain competitive is getting tiring. Roller coaster balance too.Coupled with the fact that Fire damage was too high. The combo meant some felt they had to abandon Fire, which wasn't the intent.

Op in your ass! The only op spec in PvE is survival hunter. Im Mage and I do about 80k dps in lfr gear and surv hunters are doing 100k with 365ilvl. You dont think that surv is op? And more buff for op spec and more nerf for mages. Fu GC just Fu!

Comment by AveryCF

on 2013-01-13T16:22:56-06:00

Looks comlicated, bet its easy though once you play it and learn it yourself.

Comment by Reebs

on 2013-01-13T16:54:21-06:00

Hey GC, for how long are Arcane and Affliction going to remain 8-10% above all other classes/specs on bosses overall?Probably until 5.2. We think they are both overpowered, but not so bad that hotfixes are critical. We'll keep an eye on it. View Source

As a mage switching specs and 90 talents fight to fight to remain competitive is getting tiring. Roller coaster balance too.Coupled with the fact that Fire damage was too high. The combo meant some felt they had to abandon Fire, which wasn't the intent.

Op in your ass! The only op spec in PvE is survival hunter. Im Mage and I do about 80k dps in lfr gear and surv hunters are doing 100k with 365ilvl. You dont think that surv is op? And more buff for op spec and more nerf for mages. Fu GC just Fu!

Which fight and 10 or 25 or LFR? Edit: Also your mage isn't really reforged or gemmed proper, so depending on which boss fight it was it could be just like...the survival hunter knowing its class/spec better.

Also: Citation needed

Comment by Tush

on 2013-01-13T17:07:14-06:00

Hey GC, for how long are Arcane and Affliction going to remain 8-10% above all other classes/specs on bosses overall?Probably until 5.2. We think they are both overpowered, but not so bad that hotfixes are critical. We'll keep an eye on it. View Source

As a mage switching specs and 90 talents fight to fight to remain competitive is getting tiring. Roller coaster balance too.Coupled with the fact that Fire damage was too high. The combo meant some felt they had to abandon Fire, which wasn't the intent.

Op in your ass! The only op spec in PvE is survival hunter. Im Mage and I do about 80k dps in lfr gear and surv hunters are doing 100k with 365ilvl. You dont think that surv is op? And more buff for op spec and more nerf for mages. Fu GC just Fu!

Which fight and 10 or 25 or LFR? Edit: Also your mage isn't really reforged or gemmed proper, so depending on which boss fight it was it could be just like...the survival hunter knowing its class/spec better.

Also: Citation needed

I have played as Mage for a long time and this is first expansion that surv hunter is better then Arcane Mage (in Cata it was 50/50). I have enough hit and I use mastery>haaste>crit. Yeah I have some spirit in my gear so I dont run out of mana You got problem with my style play as Arcane Mage? (I havent done first raid as normal couse i some how manage to get sucky group)

Comment by Steamhammer

on 2013-01-13T18:44:08-06:00

What is happening to the already-upgraded gear? Will they keep stats/display upgrades on tooltips?Upgraded gear will not lose its upgrades. Upgrading will likely return after 5.2, but we'll evaluate all the feedback and see.

Sooo arnt the people who upgraded sha drops to qualify for lfr instead of buying an item screwed? Or is the Valor going to be refunded?

Having had 1 drop from ALL lfr in 4 weeks, on my Rogue, if this were to be implimented id be back at iLevel 469. :(

Comment by Azrile

on 2013-01-13T18:58:21-06:00

What is happening to the already-upgraded gear? Will they keep stats/display upgrades on tooltips?Upgraded gear will not lose its upgrades. Upgrading will likely return after 5.2, but we'll evaluate all the feedback and see.

Sooo arnt the people who upgraded sha drops to qualify for lfr instead of buying an item screwed? Or is the Valor going to be refunded?

Having had 1 drop from ALL lfr in 4 weeks, on my Rogue, if this were to be implimented id be back at iLevel 469. :(

Not sure how you are thinking that.. he specifically said ´upgraded gear will not lose its upgrades´.. Your sha gear that you upgraded will remain the same level it is now.

Comment by Steamhammer

on 2013-01-13T19:35:21-06:00

Oops, guess i shouldent be posting late at night. :p

Comment by milalyr

on 2013-01-14T16:57:36-06:00

Hey GC, for how long are Arcane and Affliction going to remain 8-10% above all other classes/specs on bosses overall?Probably until 5.2. We think they are both overpowered, but not so bad that hotfixes are critical. We'll keep an eye on it. View Source

As a mage switching specs and 90 talents fight to fight to remain competitive is getting tiring. Roller coaster balance too.Coupled with the fact that Fire damage was too high. The combo meant some felt they had to abandon Fire, which wasn't the intent.

Op in your ass! The only op spec in PvE is survival hunter. Im Mage and I do about 80k dps in lfr gear and surv hunters are doing 100k with 365ilvl. You dont think that surv is op? And more buff for op spec and more nerf for mages. Fu GC just Fu!

Are you taking numbers from trash and AoE situations? Survival hunters have extremely high AoE DPS because of Improved Serpent Sting and Serpent Spread. So, yes, it'll look very skewed from that angle. :)

Comment by zashral

on 2013-01-15T00:58:08-06:00

that raid encounter looks awesome, ill have to play on ptr a bit more

Comment by SkulledKing

on 2013-01-15T19:04:10-06:00

Uh I don't think Affliction is op. it's weak as sin in pvp and certain boss fights. Our dots Stack a single target movement/ stop start fight leaves us scratching our above tanks! We top in some fights like you top in others Stop calling Locks Op! If I wanted to be op I'd roll a hunter and spam multi/ aimed shot Ftw

Comment by Azrile

on 2013-01-15T19:10:22-06:00

Hey GC, for how long are Arcane and Affliction going to remain 8-10% above all other classes/specs on bosses overall?Probably until 5.2. We think they are both overpowered, but not so bad that hotfixes are critical. We'll keep an eye on it. View Source

As a mage switching specs and 90 talents fight to fight to remain competitive is getting tiring. Roller coaster balance too.Coupled with the fact that Fire damage was too high. The combo meant some felt they had to abandon Fire, which wasn't the intent.

Op in your ass! The only op spec in PvE is survival hunter. Im Mage and I do about 80k dps in lfr gear and surv hunters are doing 100k with 365ilvl. You dont think that surv is op? And more buff for op spec and more nerf for mages. Fu GC just Fu!

Are you taking numbers from trash and AoE situations? Survival hunters have extremely high AoE DPS because of Improved Serpent Sting and Serpent Spread. So, yes, it'll look very skewed from that angle. :)

Yeah, if you take away all the bosses and encounters that we are strong in, you will clearly see that we are weak overall!

Comment by iamleejn

on 2013-01-16T02:24:59-06:00

Sorry, but I can't help but say it... "Mogu'shan was merely a setback!" Yet another NPC joins the <I Want a Do-over> guild.

This council fight reminds me a bit of Blood Princes back in ICC: just substitute "spirit of gara'jal" for "Invocation of Blood" and it has a very similar feel. Although this business of "dark energy" looks like it will add an interesting angle.

Comment by Wirxaw

on 2013-01-16T06:24:53-06:00

Sorry, but I can't help but say it... "Mogu'shan was merely a setback!" Yet another NPC joins the <I Want a Do-over> guild.

This council fight reminds me a bit of Blood Princes back in ICC: just substitute "spirit of gara'jal" for "Invocation of Blood" and it has a very similar feel. Although this business of "dark energy" looks like it will add an interesting angle.

Basically most bosses are reworks in some way. Be it a general idea\\mechanic, or almost direct copy. WoW has launched it's 4th expansion, and even though Vanilla bosses did not have a major glimpse of what a mechanic is, you can't keep making new things over and over. This fight is just another council-type fight with energy mechanic that is opposite of how it went for Omnomtron, where you had to stop dps at some point.

The bright side is - the further the game goes, the more complex these mechanics are summed up. Comparing to Omnomtron or Ascendant Council, where you only had to watch dps on 2 bosses at a time and control remedial stuff, here you actually need to keep track of everything while switching and bursting in time.

Even if it's was a direct remake like Zul'Aman\\Gurub, it's still a new look at the fight, which is fine to me.

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